Watercolor Painting Supplies; a Basic Studio and Plein Air Set-up
In this video, I take you into my studio and show you my basic set-up for watercolor painting.
Brushes
The large red brushes I use for watercolor painting are NEEF Alvaro Castagnet Series 117 Brushes. I have sizes 2, 4, 6 and 10. They are Kazan squirrel quill mop brushes. I love them! Other than the daVinci Maestro (see below) these are the only brushes I use.
The black, smaller brush is a daVinci Maestro Kolinsky Sable size 8. It is a beautiful pointy, delicate brush that I highly recommend.
You can purchase the Castagnet brushes from this Australian art supply company:
http://www.artmaterialsupplies.com/amsstock.asp?rtv=421691&CID=72&rsc=1
Or through Alvaro’s website: http://www.alvarocastagnet.net/products.html
The Davinci Maestro is carried by Daniel Smith: http://www.danielsmith.com/Item–i-G-063-340
Paper
I use 140 lb Rough Paper. The brands I use are Fabriano Artistico, Saunders Waterford and Arches. I buy full sheet packs.
Palette
My palette is a bit customized. It started out as a FOME 16 half pan palette. I asked my husband to make an insert for me so he removed some parts and machined an aluminum insert with 15 wells. It fits perfectly! I use it for all of my paintings except full sheets or larger. Then I put paint in butcher trays or directly on my painting tables.
You can find the 16 half pan palette here: http://naturalpigments.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=624-2091 for $44. It’s a good palette; heavy duty and will last a long time. The half pans are pretty small, but you can double up (i.e. use two pans side by side) for your most frequently used colors.
Paint
My palette holds 15 watercolor paints but most of time I use about half of these. I have my very own Fab Five . These are the five colors that I paint 90% of my watercolor paintings with
- Yellow Ochre
- Cadmium Red Light
- Burnt Sienna
- Permanent Alizarin Crimson
- French Ultramarine Blue
My other colors that round out my palette are
- Aereolin (Cobalt Yellow)
- Raw Umber
- Cadmium Orange
- Opera (a hot pink color)
- Cobalt Turquoise
- Cerulean Blue
- Cobalt Blue
- Neutral Tint
- Chinese White
Gator Board
Gatorboard is a lightweight, sturdy board made up of dense foam with a rigid, water resistant top. It’s like foam core but very strong.
I use plywood in my studio. The gatorboard is nice for plein air painting and traveling.
Here is a link to a photo of it: http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_product.cfm?Item=59970
Other Items
Masking Tape, Spray Bottle, Sponge, Viva Paper Towels
Vinita…great video!! Since I bought the mop bushes you use I rarely use any others. I have wished often that I’d heard of them before…I’d have saved alot of money on my brushes!! Hope you save others from buying unneed ones.
I’m really looking forward to your workshop in the Medford area!!
Carol
Thanks Carol,
Yes, I was lucky to invest in quality brushes pretty much from the start. It does pay off in the long run!
Looking forward to the workshop too!!!
Vinita , Thanks for the informative video.Great job!. Do you ever do workshops in Canada?
Best Regards , Jerry
Hi Jerry,
I’ve contacted a few places in B.C. but I haven’t heard back from them. I would love to teach in Canada sometime.
Hi Vinita,
I love your video. Thank you for sharing that with us. I’ve since purchased the Saunders Waterford paper and the palette, but I’m also wondering if your husband would be willing to make and sell another insert to the palette?
Hi Brianne,
You are welcome! Saunders is nice paper. My husband was sweet enough to make an insert for me but it’s not something he is interested in making more of. Race car restoration is his hobby. When I’m in my studio, he is in his shop!
Viva Vinita! Thank you. That was so helpful and nice to refresh my memory.
XO
Ha ha! Thanks Diana! Maybe I could get Viva to make a special line for me, “Viva Vinita.” I like it!
Hugs to you
Vinita, Thank you so for the supply vid. How can you buy paper in bulk at a low price Im on budget and need to find a store to buy? Im so happy your back You hadent wrote in some time and was worried I had lost you. Happy Holidays to you and yours,
Linda
Hi Linda,
The best place to buy paper in bulk is through online art supplies. A few well known companies in the U.S. are Daniel Smith, Cheap Joes, Dick Blick and Art Supply Warehouse. Cheap Joes is having 1/2 off of shipping through Nov. 29. Daniel Smith is having a 20% off sale for the next day or two.
It’s best to shop around, save up and buy plenty of paper. I buy enough so that I only buy paper about twice a year (and I use a lot of paper).
Thanks Linda, Happy Holidays to you as well!
Vinita
Vinita-You have a great thing going on here, I love your site, and instruction. Do you have work workshops in the mid-west? I would love attending one.
Thanks John, I don’t have any workshops scheduled in the Midwest but maybe someday.
Hi Vinita!
I always love getting in-depth recommendations, perhaps santa will bring me some NEEF Alvaro Castagnets for Christmas too
Do you have a particular method of sealing your paintings? Granted, I doubt much could happen to a painting hanging on a wall behind glass and in a frame, but I’m a mixed media artist, and I’ve recently begun incorporating watercolor into my work. I didn’t want to use my standard Golden sealant for fear of smearing. The majority of my work is on canvas or substrate with no frame, so any tips would be great!
Keep up the great work, I love watching your videos
Hi Brent, you would have to be really, really good for Santa to bring you brushes!
I don’t seal my watercolor paintings in any way. I use all archival materials in the framing process. I have not painted watercolor on canvas so I wouldn’t be much help there. I would imagine that you would need a spray sealant to keep it from smearing. If I come across more info on this subject, I will let you know. I hope you are on Santa’s nice list!
Hi there Vinita,
I was just wondering as I am very keen on starting watercolour painting (due to looking at so many amazing videos made by you
), what are the bare essentials as a beginner I should have?
Cheers,
Matt.
Hi Matt, sorry I didn’t respond sooner!
The bare essentials would be a couple of tubes of watercolor paint; a yellow, red, blue and maybe burnt sienna, then a nice brush and a pad of watercolor paper. You could pick this up at any art supply store and you can always add supplies as you go. The important thing is to start!
Hi!
It’s really helpful and interesting, I like it, thank you very mutch!
And now I want hardly more!!!
Kind regards, Margreet
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Hey Vinita
That Video help Great!!! Im 14 and Love to paintings with Water colore now i Know what is Best to get
Thankx so much !!
And im from Germany so i have Bad grammer and also color Not colore